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Alliance in the black, two years running
Alliance for Arts and Culture holds annual general meeting

At its annual general meeting held Tuesday evening, June 22, the Alliance for Arts and Culture presented its healthy financial statements, and marked the last AGM for its executive director, Lori Baxter.

“This is very good news for the Alliance,” says Baxter. “I’m pleased to be leaving the Alliance in a good financial position, so that my successor can continue our programs and be able to build new ones.” The Alliance ended 2003 with a small surplus, having eliminated its debt in 2002.

Baxter will be leaving the Alliance, a non-profit arts service organization, which represents and serves a membership of more than 300 arts and culture organizations and individuals drawn from all artistic disciplines, later this summer for the arts and culture section of 2010 LegaciesNow.

Aside from establishing sound financial footing in 2003, the Alliance also celebrated several major accomplishments at its annual general meeting.

This month, together with its partner Tourism Vancouver, the Alliance celebrates the second anniversary of Tickets Tonight, Vancouver’s only day-of, half-price ticket outlet. Tickets Tonight is located at the Touristinfo Centre at 200 Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver and in addition to selling select half-price day-of tickets and full-price advance tickets from independent producers, Tickets Tonight is also a full-service Ticketmaster outlet. In 2003, the booth sold 13,473 tickets, 43 percent of which were half-price, and returned $470,840 to producers.

2003 also marked the start of planning for the first-ever Vancouver Arts Awards, which were held on March 19, 2004. The Awards honour both achievement and promise: the achievement of established artists with successful careers, and the promise of new artists, who received commissions to further their work and development. The Arts Awards will continue to be an annual event showcasing Vancouver’s creative community.

Working with Councillor Jim Green at the City of Vancouver, the Alliance developed Cultural Presentations for Council Meetings in 2003, with the first performances in early 2004. Cultural Presentations gives artists an opportunity to perform at regularly-scheduled Vancouver City Council meetings, receiving promotion and exposure.

Attendees thanked Baxter for her dedication and hard work over the last decade, and welcomed several new members to the board of directors. Barbara Clausen of New Performance Works, Corrine Corry of the Richmond Art Gallery, Francesca Fung of Festival Vancouver, Kirsten Schrader of the First Vancouver TheatreSpace Society, and Jim Smith of Eponymous join returning members consultant Robert Blackwood, Hazel Currie of Pacific Cinematheque Pacifique, Merrill Fearon of the Federal of BC Writers, Ian Forsyth of the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Duncan Low of the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Paddy Macleod of the Vancouver Cantata Singers, John McLachlan of Gliss Media and David Shefsiek of Vancouver Opera.

Last Updated: Tuesday, June 28, 2005